


5. The View from the Stream - Inter-Views

by Denise_Felt



Series: Inter-Views [5]
Category: UFO | Gerry Anderson's UFO
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-09
Updated: 2011-03-09
Packaged: 2017-10-16 19:37:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/168632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denise_Felt/pseuds/Denise_Felt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Our choices decide our fate.  What will she choose?</p>
            </blockquote>





	5. The View from the Stream - Inter-Views

## The View from the Stream

  


by Denise Felt 2011

He’d been feeling a nagging sense of awareness at the back of his mind for over an hour, but even so, after he finished up his report on the latest UFO sighting and headed for the back lots, he was still surprised to find her there when he arrived at the park.  He stopped on the path under the shade of the trees, just watching her for a moment before she became aware of his presence.  She looked pensive, but peaceful, as she sat next to the stream that ran through the park and flowed under the bridge he always stood on during times when he needed quiet.  Her face was raised to the sun, her eyes closed, and she seemed to be luxuriating in its light.  And he wasn’t sure, but he thought her feet were in the water.

It was good to see her.  His eyes drank in the myriad highlights her hair revealed under the direct sunlight and followed the lines of her graceful form downward until the rest of her was hidden from his view.  Memory surged at the sight of her neck, shoulders, and womanly curves – memory of a time he’d come alive in her arms as he had never done before in his existence.  He’d wondered more than once since that day if she had regretted that encounter.  Especially when she didn’t return for so long.  So the fact that she was here now could really mean anything: that she missed him and wanted to see him, that she wanted to tell him to leave her alone, or perhaps – worst of all – that she didn’t want to write about him anymore.  His throat locked up at the thought, and he cursed himself for his worry, hating that her opinion mattered so much to him.  There were other writers, after all.  What made her so special?

But he knew the answer to that question, so he sighed and left the path, walking across the grass to where she sat beside the stream.  She turned at his approach and smiled softly.  He gave her a smile in return, relieved that she was not angry with him.  As he sat down next to her on the bank, she said, “Hello.  I hope you don’t mind me coming here.  I know you’re busy.”

His lips quirked.  “No, I don’t mind.  After all, you’re the one who gave me this place.  Writers in general don’t usually let me have moments of quiet in their stories, so I’m doubly grateful to you for this park.  As for being busy?”  He shrugged.  “Not at the moment.  Earlier we had an alert, but Sky 4 took care of the one that got past the interceptors, so we’re fine.  Until next time.”

“Good.”  She said nothing more, but watched her feet as the stream flowed over her toes.

After several minutes, he took off his shoes and socks and dipped his own feet into the stream.  She turned to him with a grin, and he chuckled.  “I must admit, in all the years I’ve had this park to visit, I’ve never done this before.”

Denise shook her head at him.  “Why not?”

“I don’t know.  I should have.  It feels wonderful.  I suppose it simply never occurred to me before.”

“You’ve forgotten what it’s like to be free, haven’t you?” she asked quietly.  “It’s been so long since you didn’t have a care in the world that you don’t know how to act that way anymore.”

“You may be right about that,” he conceded.  “Are you here to remind me?”

“Only if you want to be reminded,” she said.

He leaned closer and kissed her sunlit hair.  “Thank you.”

They sat that way for a time, their shoulders touching and their feet in the water; not talking, but content just to be together.  Finally he glanced at her and said, “What happened?”

She met his gaze, but after a moment returned her eyes to the stream.  “Life changes,” she said softly.

He laid a lean hand over her small one on the grass.  “Was it my fault?”

“No.  It had been coming on for some time.  It just finally reached a point when I could no longer accept the ways things were going.  So I ended it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”

He realized something.  “You still love him.”

“Of course,” she said, as if that were a given.  “I’ll always love him.  I just couldn’t live with him anymore.  He’d gone too far down a different road.  There was no more common ground between us – which was such a shock to realize, since we’d always been on the same wavelength about things.”

“What changed his mind?” he asked curiously, unable to fathom anyone foolish enough to walk away from the wonder of her. 

“He suffered a midlife crisis and decided that reality sucked.  So he lost himself in a fantasy world where he didn’t have to relate to real people anymore.  It’s so ironic, really, because I stayed in reality mostly for him.  Go figure.”

“If he had you, what would he need fantasy for?” he asked in bewilderment.

She grimaced.  “That’s the question of the hour, isn’t it?  But I told you that I’m not easy to handle.  Anyone who inhabits my inner circle has to have a certain basic understanding of life, themselves, and eternity.  My husband’s fantasy choice took him away from all that, replacing wisdom with the thrill of the moment.  For some, that seems to be enough to live on.  But it was bound to lead to a parting of the ways for us.”

He sat in astonishment for several minutes, then said, “He’s an utter fool!”

She grinned.  “I like you, Ed.  Have I ever told you that?”

He chuckled, nudging her shoulder with his.  “I think I figured that much out.  So, what now?  Where does that leave us?”

“It doesn’t affect us at all,” she said with a slight frown.  “Unless it does for you?”

“No,” he said, raising a hand to brush the curls off her cheek.  “Not in the least.  His stupidity is my gain – at least, that’s the way I see it.  Is it how you see it?”

She met his eyes.  “I’d be more than happy to abandon myself into your care, denying reality and staying here always with you.  But in its way, it would be the same thing he did – and just as wrong.”

“But I love you!” he said fervently.  “And you love me.  You’re not going to tell me that’s what he found in his fantasy world?”

“No,” she said with a sigh.  “He wasn’t looking for love.  He just wanted perverted sex.”

“So how can you compare the two?” he asked.

Her lips firmed.  “Because they’re both fantasy, Ed!  Just because his was more disgusting than mine doesn’t make mine any more acceptable.  They’re an escape from reality, not a handling of it.  And escapes can be entertaining – even incredibly enjoyable – but reality remains and needs attention.  Life was meant to be lived, not run away from!  And in spite of everything I’ve gone through recently, I love my life.  In fact, like you I’m relearning how to enjoy myself more.  I hadn’t realized how caged I’d become in my own home – until I was free once more.”

He gathered her into his arms.  “I’m so sorry, Denise.”

She held onto him, taking comfort from his lean strength.  “Don’t be sorry, Ed.  We all make our own choices.  My husband chose to run away from the pressures of life, and I chose to stay with him in the hopes that he would snap out of it.  He was a wonderful man – once – and I’m glad that I knew him during those years.  The rest doesn’t matter.”

“And us?” he asked softly, rubbing his cheek against her hair.

She smiled and hugged him tighter.  “We’ll always have each other.  Haven’t you noticed that I seem to be much more prolific now that I’m not bogged down with the troubles of a marriage that’s falling apart?  Have you enjoyed your latest adventures?”

He framed her face with his hands and kissed her.  “Yes, I’ve had a wonderful time.  I especially liked traveling to Earth’s future and finding it free of any vicious aliens.  That felt great!”

She laughed.  “I’m glad.  I was afraid you’d be upset since I had you injured so badly.”

“Well, I wasn’t conscious when the ship crashed, so I don’t remember any of that.  And they healed me pretty quickly, so I didn’t have much time to feel any pain at all.”

“So, it was okay?”

He grinned and kissed her again.  “It was fine.”  He rubbed her cheek with his thumb.  “But I might be feeling a twinge or two if you want to kiss it and make it feel better.”

She ran her arms around his neck and leaned close.  “Show me,” she grinned against his lips.

They fell onto the bank laughing and tearing at their clothing.  

* * *  
Later – much later – he stirred and opened his eyes.  She was smiling down at him, her chin resting on her hands and her hands resting on his bare chest.  “Hi, sexy,” she said.

His lips twitched.  Only she thought of him that way.  He lifted a hand to caress her cheek. “Hello, beautiful.”

“So,” she said, her remarkable eyes twinkling, “are we always going to make love outdoors?”

He chuckled.  “You’re the writer.  I guess it’s up to you.”

“Huh.  I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Seriously?”

She shrugged.  “I wonder what that says about me, that I want to be with you outside rather than inside?”

“Maybe you don’t like restrictions,” he suggested.

“Does anyone?” she asked quizzically.

“Sure.  Most of us, actually.”

She slanted him a look.  “You too, Ed?”

He grimaced.  “Well, the writers for the show did make me a little uptight.  It’s part of my personality profile.”

She shook her head sadly.  “I know.  Somehow I always felt that underneath all that stiffness hid a very fun-loving man.  We even caught glimpses of it in a few of the episodes.”

“Yes,” he agreed.  “But I am a bit of a prude.”

“Yeah,” she sighed.  “Me, too.”

He grinned at her.  “Somehow that’s not the word that comes to mind when I think of you.”

She mistrusted that grin.  “Dare I ask what word does?”

His grin widened.  “Fascinating.”

She threw back her head and laughed.  “Oh, Ed!  You’re so full of shit!”

He was astonished.  “Denise, I’m quite serious!  You’re absolutely amazing – far more woman than I’ve ever had the privilege to know.”

She absently brushed a curl out of her eyes.  “Well, that’s because the women you’ve been with are a bit two-dimensional from necessity.  It’s hard to make them truly lifelike within the framework of a short story.”

He rested back on the grass, his hands behind his head.  “You seem to manage it well, in spite of those limitations.”

She blushed.  “Thanks.  It means a lot to me that you would think that.”

He brought his hand back to her cheek, turning her face to meet his eyes.  He stared at her for a moment in silence, then said quietly, “Is that the only kind of compliment you believe, Denise?  One about your work?”

She shrugged.  “It’s what I’m good at.”

He sat up abruptly, but kept his hand on her cheek and his eyes on hers.  “And your beauty?”

“Good genes,” she said wryly.

“Look,” he said, then paused, unsure how to continue.  “Alright,” he conceded finally.  “You do have a superficial beauty that is striking.  That’s true.  But if that were the sum total of your beauty, you’d only be one of millions who also have beautiful faces.  In actual fact, I work in the studio with women every day who far surpass you in that way.”

“I know that.”

“Then how can you think that’s all I see when I look at you?”

She swallowed and looked down at her hands.  “Actually, I’ve never understood what you see in me.  Unless it’s just that you like the way I write about you.”

He lifted her face to make her meet his eyes.  “I do like that, but it’s not why you fascinate me.  I thought I explained all this to you.  Perhaps I didn’t do a very good job of it.”

“You said that you admired my courage.  And my determination.”

“Yes.  And your kindness, your nobility, your wisdom, your brilliance, your passion, your . . . oh, God!  Everything about you!”

“Ed . . .”

“And do you know the most wonderful thing about you, Denise?” he asked, his blue eyes intent.

“What?” she breathed.

“It’s all there to be seen in your eyes.  All of it.  And I have to tell you, your gorgeous eyes are your best feature – probably for that very reason.  Any man who looked into those eyes of yours would be a fool to look anywhere else.  I could sit all day and watch the expressions that move in and out of those eyes and never be bored.  You’re beautiful, Denise, in every fiber of your being.  Do you have any idea how rare and wonderful you are?”

“Don’t, Ed!” she whispered, throwing her arms around him and hiding her face against his chest.

He was startled by her sudden move, but even more so by the tears he felt against his skin.  “Darling, what is it?”

She gulped and tried to explain, her arms still firmly around him and her cheek against the hair on his chest.  “I can’t bear it that you say those things to me!”

“Why?” he asked in utter bewilderment.

“Because no one has ever said things like that to me.  No one!  And to have the only one to say them be a fantasy only makes it that much harder for me to believe that there will ever come a time when someone in the real world will say them.  And I have to believe that, don’t you see?  Or I’ll never want to face my future.”

He sighed deeply.  “Of course.  I should have realized.  You hope to marry again someday.”

She shook her head, her curls tickling his chin as she did so.  “No.  I don’t want to ever have to trust another man with my heart!  I’m not sure I’d ever be able to look any man in the eye again and believe that he would remain true till the end.  I’ve just been burned too badly.”

“Then why is it a concern?”

She closed her eyes for a moment.  “Because I know that I will remarry someday.  It’s not something that anyone has told me or some turn of the cards that I’m relying on.  It’s a gut knowing.  And it makes me furious!  Why can’t I remain by myself?  I’m so much happier that way.  Free.  And free to be myself!  Why would I go back to the cage?”

He ran a tender hand through her curls.  “Denise, was it always that way with your husband?”

“No, of course not.  But that’s just it!  We had years of happiness together, so that I began to trust it.  Began to count on it.  Then suddenly one day I looked around, and I was in a cage.  I didn’t even see the bars until they were holding me in!  I trusted him, and he put me in a cage!  How can I ever trust someone not to do that to me again?  I wouldn’t be able to bear it to find myself there another time.  It would all be far too much to take.”

“Life has no guarantees, Denise.  And that isn’t something I’ve had to deal with much.  I’m used to guarantees with you.  In your stories, I can always be assured that no matter what else happens, I’ll end up happy by the end.”

She sighed.  “I know.  Which is why it would be far nicer to just stay here with you.  You’re never anything but kind to me, and I wouldn’t have to worry about whether you’d turn away from me someday in search of something else.”

“Then stay.”

She met his eyes.  “Believe me, I wish I could!”

“But you won’t,” he said with a sigh.

“If I did, I’d never be able to write another story about you.”

He considered that for a while.  “I would even be willing to forego that,” he decided.  “If I had you here with me.”

She shook her head.  “I can’t, Ed.  As much as I love my fantasy world, I love my life more.  Even when it’s hard.  I’m not a character in a story.  I need to live.  I need to laugh and cry and work and play and enjoy being alive.  I can’t do that here with you, much as I wish I could.  Do you make me feel alive?  Oh, yes.  In so very many ways – ways that no one else ever has!  But this isn’t life.  Do you see what I mean?”

He drew her close.  “Yes.  Damn it.  But promise me this, at least.  That whenever life is treating you unkindly and you need someone to kiss it and make it all better, you’ll come to me.  Promise me!”

She smiled at him through her tears.  “Yes.  I promise.  I love you, Ed.”

“I love you too, Denise.”  



End file.
